Tuesday, November 25, 2014

The Solar System, Gray Whales, Sparrows, and Wolves

The Solar System

The Earths core is as hot as the Sun which is 6000 degrees Celsius. Because Mercury is so close to the Sun, Mercury doesn't have any oxygen. This is due to the atmospheric pressure from the Sun causing solar winds to come in and blow it all away. Not all planets have water on its surface, but Uranus actually does have water. However, it's water is located under Uranus's clouds. The solar system was formed 4.6 billion years ago, and the influence that the solar system has stretches 2 light years away. The sun takes up most of the mass of the solar system, and the sun is only one star amongst 200 billion in the Milky Way galaxy.

The Gray Whale

The Gray Whale gets up to 50 feet in length and can weigh up to 40 tons. Gray Whales used to be almost extinct in the 20th century due to Whaling Industries because of their blubber. These whales actually have a thick 10 inch layer of blubber for insulation. Gray whales are also covered in parasites causing them to look slightly discolored and splotchy in appearance. These whales are bottom feeders so mainly feed on crustaceans and other nutrients. Their baleen bristles are smaller than most whales which makes it easier and more efficient for them to filter out the water that they take in. They also can breath oxygen as well. When Gray Whales have kin they can produce milk to give to them. Baby Gray Whales often consume up to 40 gallons of milk a day, and can reproduce when they're 8 years old. These whales are most typically found in the North Pacific, but have been discovered in the Mediterranean as well. The Gray Whales life span can be up to 70 years.

Sparrows

Sparrows are smaller birds that often get compared to finches. They can also sing and be kept as house sparrows as well. Most typically sparrows can be found on the edges of marshes, fields, and the edges of forests. Sparrows don't like small spaces and prefer to be roaming through open fields, but have adjusted quite a bit to city life. A sparrows life span often only reaches 4 to 5 years and typically only eats insects. Sparrows often also eat insects, but a lot of their diet depends on where they are. Sparrows usually can be found in North America and other warmer climates. Their gestation period is about 13 days and usually have 5-8 eggs.

Wolves

When new cubs are born the mother cub will have to assist them in urinating by licking their under bellies with her warm tongue. Surprisingly, wolves often become weary and fear anything different from what they are used to. Wolves also typically run on their toes to assist in speed and agility. This also helps them to stop abruptly and make sharp turns. Wolves can run up to 20 mph, and have sense of hearing that can reach up to 6 miles away from where they are. This differs though, because arctic wolves can hear up to 10 miles away from them. An interesting fact about wolves is that they have 200 million scent cells while humans just have 5 million. Wolves are very family orientated. The male and the female will often raise their cubs together and have only one mate for their life span.